The Burlap Trees (#jammed daily devo, day 122)

May #jammed: Growing Grace.

Day 122: It’s fair.

“Do not cheat poor people just because they are vulnerableor use shady tactics in court to crush those already suffering;” Proverbs 22:22

Before the first snow, my husband wraps the tree-line that borders the side of the busy road we live on in burlap. He does this to protect the trees from the road salt, and the harsh winds that whip off the lake across the street in the winter months. If he doesn’t protect the trees, they will turn brown and start to become bare from exposure to the salt and the bitter artic wind.

Today’s verse illustrates how God is the burlap for people who can’t help themselves. There will always be poor people, and the world will constantly be trying to justify why poverty exists …provide a way out …prevent it from getting worse …and solve it forever. But God is one step ahead of all of us. He knows that wealth doesn’t cure poverty. Impoverish people teach us a lot about the health of our own spirituality. The Bible tells us to go to people, help people …but He never charges us with fixing people.

“In him the poor have a powerful attorney who will turn the tables and exact life for life.” Zondervan Bible Commentary

Jesus loves us, despite of our backstory, enough to die for us before we could love Him back. He wraps us in burlap and calls us “His.” He promises not to lose one of us, and will grip our hand through it all. When we love someone else just because He loves us, we cover them in His love.

Do we treat the disheveled looking child in the same way we treat the child that is pristine and coordinated. What about the child that says all the right things, as opposed to the one who struggles out loud? We may not all land in a position to stop shadiness in a court of law on account of someone who is suffering an injustice, but we can certainly pay more attention to the way we treat those we pass by.

The way we see each other is not the way God sees us. The way you see your neighbor, or the homeless guy that sleeps on the corner bench, is not how God sees them. We see what our eyes allow and what we know. God sees their heart. That kid being made fun of at school is His precious child …wrapped in burlap.

Father, Praise You for this verse on poverty today. Thank You for reminding us not to paint pictures in the lives of what has happened to others. Forgive us for pointing fingers and mocking the helpless. Bless us with compassionate hearts that reach out to those that need it the most. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Get the conversation started by commenting below, and let’s encourage one another as we face life in 2017 armed with grace!

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Meg

God has poured His love into my life through His Son, and hopefully through this blog, I can share some of that love with you. I'm a Christian, wife, stay-at-home-mom, writer, runner...I love the water....and I live to laugh..LOUD.
Happy reading, friends!
"Be joyful always." 1Thes. 5:16
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